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Calculate the time it takes light from the sun to reach Mercury?
Wiki User
∙ 14y ago
Mercury's average distance from the sun is about 58 million kilometers, or 58 billion meters. Light travels at a speed of about 300 million meters per second. Divide the distance by the speed of light to get the time needed, and you end up with about 193.3 seconds, or about 3.2 minutes.
You can check this answer to make sure that it makes sense by remembering that light from the sun takes roughly 8 minutes to reach Earth. Earth and Mercury are both terrestrial planets, Mercury is closer, and 3 minutes and 8 minutes aren't wildly different times, so the answer looks reasonable.
Wiki User
∙ 14y ago
Wiki User
∙ 11y agoIt takes 3.2 minutes or 193.0 seconds or .387 AU (speed) to get from the sun to mercury in light travel. This is how the scientific speed is measured.
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Time it take for light to get to Mercury?
it takes about 3-4 minutes for light to travel to mercury
Does the sunlight takes 4 minutes to reach earth?
No. Four minutes after leaving the sun, the light has progressed only to an areabetween the orbits of Mercury and Venus. The journey from sun to earth at thespeed of light is about 8minutes and 20seconds.
How long does the light from the sun take to get to mercury?
It really depends on the current distance of Mercury from The Sun. The orbit of Mercury (and of all the planets) is not perfectly circular. There are times Mercury is closer to The Sun than other times. When it's at its closest, or perihelion, Mercury is a little over 28.5 million miles from The Sun, and light takes just over 2 minutes and 33 seconds to travel from The Sun to Mercury. When Mercury is at is farthest distance, or aphelion, it is almost 43.4 million miles from the Sun, and light takes just over 3 minutes and 53 seconds to travel from The Sun to Mercury. So, based on the dates that Mercury is at aphelion and perihelion, your answer is: On August 21st, 2009, light takes 3 minutes and 53 seconds to travel from The Sun to Mercury On October 4th, 2009, light takes 2 minutes and 33 seconds to travel from The Sun to Mercury.
How long does it takes the sunlight to reach the Earth?
It takes light around 8 minutes and 19 seconds to reach the earth from the sun.
How do you calculate the average radius of earth's orbit lif it takes 500seconds for light to reach earth from the sun?
Speed of light = 186,282 miles per second.500 seconds at this speed = (500 x 186,282) = 93,141,000 miles
How long it takes for light from CAPELLA to reach us?
It takes light 42.2 years for light from Capella to reach us
Time it take for light to get to Mercury?
it takes about 3-4 minutes for light to travel to mercury
How long it takes the suns light to reach earth?
It takes approximately 8 minutes for the Sun's light to reach Earth.
How do they time the time it takes for the light coming from the sun to reach the earth?
The distance to the Sun, and the speed of light, had been established separately, so the time was now easy to calculate.
How does it take for light to reach earth?
If you mean light from the Sun, then it takes eight minutes for the light to reach the Earth.
Does the sunlight takes 4 minutes to reach earth?
No. Four minutes after leaving the sun, the light has progressed only to an areabetween the orbits of Mercury and Venus. The journey from sun to earth at thespeed of light is about 8minutes and 20seconds.
How long does it takes from the sun to reach earth?
light takes about eight minutes
How many light years does it take the sun light to reach Vega?
It takes sunlight about 27 years to reach Vega.
How do you work out how long light takes from the sun to reach earth?
By using the parallax you can deduce the distance to all planets and many stars. [See related link]From that, simple math can calculate and distance to light speed.
How long does the light from the sun take to get to mercury?
It really depends on the current distance of Mercury from The Sun. The orbit of Mercury (and of all the planets) is not perfectly circular. There are times Mercury is closer to The Sun than other times. When it's at its closest, or perihelion, Mercury is a little over 28.5 million miles from The Sun, and light takes just over 2 minutes and 33 seconds to travel from The Sun to Mercury. When Mercury is at is farthest distance, or aphelion, it is almost 43.4 million miles from the Sun, and light takes just over 3 minutes and 53 seconds to travel from The Sun to Mercury. So, based on the dates that Mercury is at aphelion and perihelion, your answer is: On August 21st, 2009, light takes 3 minutes and 53 seconds to travel from The Sun to Mercury On October 4th, 2009, light takes 2 minutes and 33 seconds to travel from The Sun to Mercury.
Sun light takes how many second to reach mars?
The speed of light is 186,000 miles per second or 300,000 kilometers per second. It takes sunlight about 13 minutes to reach Mars. It takes about 81/2 minutes to reach Earth.
Why do scientists use the speed of light to calculate distance?
Scientists use light years to calculate distance because they can tell how far away things are in space by measuring how much time it takes for light to reach a certain point. It's just easier to say how many light years things are in space then to say in miles.
